10 Happiest (and Unhappiest) Cities for Workers

Employees looking for a little more cheer in their lives should consider moving to the U.S. West Coast, new research shows.

California is home to three of the 10 happiest cities to work in, including San Jose, which tops the list. San Francisco and San Diego were also among the 10 cheeriest cities for employees, the study by online career community CareerBliss revealed.

The rankings were based on several key factors that affect work happiness, including an employee's relationship with his or her boss and co-workers, work environment, job resources, compensation, growth opportunities, company culture, company reputation, daily tasks and job control over work performed on a daily basis. The data accounts for how an employee values each factor, as well as how important that factor is to the employee's overall happiness. [The Happiest Tech Companies]

In San Jose, the people and the company reputation had a large impact on overall happiness. As the capital of Silicon Valley, CareerBliss researchers said the northern California city has a large concentration of technology jobs that are often high paying and provide innovative work environments.

Other cities outside of California ranking in the top 10 included:

Washington, D.C.

Las Vegas, Nev.

Salt Lake City, Utah

Houston, Texas

Boston, Mass.

Philadelphia, Pa.

Charlotte, N.C.

Factors that ranked high across all of the happiest cities were the opportunities for growth and the relationship employees had with their co-workers.

In contrast, CareerBliss found that the rewards employees' received and the support they got were lowest in cities that were the unhappiest. In addition, a common factor that affected unhappy cities was a lower ranking in overall work environment.

The 10 unhappiest cities were:

Cincinnati, Ohio

Orlando, Fla.

Indianapolis, Ind.

Denver, Colo.

Pittsburgh, Pa.

Tampa, Fla.

Columbus, Ohio

Sacramento, Calif.

Miami, Fla.

Arlington, Va.

“Having a clear picture of what drives happiness at work not only impacts companies, but entire communities and can help create happier environments all around," said CareerBliss co-founder Heidi Golledge.

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Chad Brooks

Chad Brooks is a Chicago-based freelance writer who has nearly 15 years experience in the media business. A graduate of Indiana University, he spent nearly a decade as a staff reporter for the Daily Herald in suburban Chicago, covering a wide array of topics including, local and state government, crime, the legal system and education. Following his years at the newspaper Chad worked in public relations, helping promote small businesses throughout the U.S. Follow him on Twitter.